The PGA Tour said on Thursday that after a meeting this week with U.S. President Donald Trump it was closer to reaching a deal with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf that would help end the years-long divide in professional golf.

Trump has been eager to step into the conversations between the PGA Tour and PIF since taking office and stated before the election that he could strike a deal between the two sides in 15 minutes. The President has relationships with both the PGA Tour and the PIF; his golf courses have been utilized by both circuits to hold tournaments.

To the dismal list of indignities visited upon men’s professional golf — profound division, cutthroat rancor, naked greed, rampant entitlement — we can add brazen obsequiousness, evidenced by Thursday’s statement in which PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and player-directors Adam Scott and Tiger Woods had to fluff Mango Mussolini’s ego to help secure government approval for a deal to reunify the sport.

Scott O'Neil, LIV Golf's new CEO, is in favor of President Donald Trump getting involved in negotiations to bring about an alliance with the PGA Tour.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said he met with President Donald Trump at the White House this week as the tour moves closer to finalizing a long-sought investment deal with the Saudi Arabian backers of rival LIV Golf.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and player-director Adam Scott met with President Donald Trump to discuss the Tour's possible merger with LIV Golf.

Tour officials said the session at the White House “brought us closer to a final deal” that would be subject to Justice Department antitrust scrutiny.

A view shows the logo of PGA Tour during the Canadian Open’s Championship Pro-Am after news was released of a new partnership between the PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit, at Oakdale Golf and Country Club in Toronto,

The PGA Tour confirmed that commissioner Jay Monahan and Adam Scott met with President Donald Trump Tuesday to discuss “the future of men’s professional golf.”